Global Hawk

A combat-proven HALE UAS with extraordinary ISR capabilities, providing near-real-time high resolution imagery of large geographical areas all day and night in all types of weather. The Air Force Global Hawk evolved from DARPA technology and was deployed overseas shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Today, the active Global Hawk enterprise is made up of three complimentary systems. The Global Hawk Comms Gateway was unveiled in 2006 and operates the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN), a communications system that receives, bridges, and distributes information among all participants in a battle. The Global Hawk Multi-INT is important for situation awareness and intelligence across huge areas of land and carries the sensor systems EISS (Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite) and ASIP (Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload). The Global Hawk Wide Area Surveillance carries the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP), which provides game-changing situational awareness and targeting information on both fixed and moving targets. The original Global Hawk model is now flown on scientific research missions by NASA.

Background:

Global Hawk has its origins in the 1995 High-Altitude Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (HAE UAV ACTD) program initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO). The Global Hawk effort succeeded because it focused on the design and construction of a practical air vehicle that was developmentally mature enough to be transitioned into an operational weapons system. While still a developmental system, the Global Hawk system began supporting overseas contingency operations only two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The system has surpassed 125,000 flight hours and midway through 2014 had 100,000 combat/operational flight hours.